Chevron Quilt Tutorial

This weekend was my sister-in-law's bridal shower in Sherman! She told me that she really wanted a hand made quilt, so I decided to make one for her. She told me that she really likes grey and white chevron, so that's what I decided to do. I made the back a dark navy blue. It turned out to be the best quilt I've done to date (this is only my 3rd one).

Here is a mini-how-to for this quilt:

First of all, I used 80 (9" by 9") squares (10 rows of 8). I think the finished quilt was about 76" x 72" (these aren't exact dimensions because I can't remember for sure!

So, on to the how-to:

(1) 

First things first! ALWAYS pre-wash your material. Right after I got home from the fabric store, I threw my material into the washing machine. When it's done washing, I throw it in the drier with a fabric softener sheet to make it nice and soft. When the material is dry, iron all the wrinkles out. 

Note: make sure you don't wash lights and darks together in case they fade/stain the lighter colors!

(2) 

I figured out a much quicker way to cut out the squares this time around. For the first quilt I ever made, I used fat quarters and I cut out all the squares individually. This time, after ironing the fabric, I started folding the material over and over again until I got it down to a nice square. (If you do it this way, be sure to flatten out all the layers so you don't have folds in the middle of one square when you're done.)

Once the material is all folded up, lay a 9" by 9" square piece of tissue paper on the top and pin. Next, use the rotary cutter to trim off the edges. You should be left with a nice pile of uniform squares.

Maybe I'm a moron for not figuring out how to cut squares like this sooner, but I felt like I had a revelation when I finished cutting squares in about 10 minutes instead of 2 hours!

(3)

Once all the squares are cut, stacked one grey square and one white square on top of each other, pin them together, and then draw a straight diagonal line from one corner to the opposite one, creating two triangles. Next, sew two straight lines on each side of the diagonal (see below).

Next, take the rotary cutter and cut on the drawn diagonal. When you unfold the pieces, you should have two squares with a grey triangle on one side and a white triangle on the other (see below).

(4)

Arrange the squares in the pattern you want for the top of the quilt. Sew blocks together to form 10 rows in the pattern you have selected. Sew individual rows first, then combine them.

This is what my rows ended up looking like. Note, every other row will have a slightly different pattern in order to make the chevron. When you sew all the rows together they should look like this:

(5) 

Once the top of the quilt is sewn together, lay out the material for the bottom of the quilt and pull tight so there are no bunches in the material. Next roll out the batting, and then lay the top over that. 

Carefully start safety pinning the layers together. I start by first pinning the corners and then working my way down the sides and then fill in the middle, but it's really up to you however you find this easiest. 

(6) 

Once all the pins are in place, roll the edges of the quilt to make it easier to fit into your sewing machine. You can do whatever pattern you like for the quilting, but no matter what pattern you do, you should start somewhere in the middle of the quilt and sew outwards making sure all the layers are flat under the needle so they don't bunch up.

For the stitching on this quilt, I did a little pattern on the grey stripes, and I left the white blank. Here's what I did:

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After you've done all the quilting your little heart desires, cut all the strings where you picked up the needle, and then take a straight edge down the side of the quilt and cut off all the excess batting to make a nice straight edge on all sides of the quilt. 

(8) 

Cut strips for the binding 2 1/2" thick to go around the perimeter of the quilt. Always cut extra so that you have enough binding to turn the corners.

Once you cut the strips and sew them all together in a continuous string, iron it in half longways and sew it to the quilt! You may need to find a tutorial to teach you how to attach the binding. I don't find it to be that difficult, but the first time you do it can be tricky.

(9) 

You are done!! Happy quilting!

Apron Tutorial

For Christmas gifts, I made aprons for my mom, mother-in-law, sister, and sister-in-law! I think they turned out really cute. I made them all by myself, pattern included. I thought that this would be a good project to do a tutorial on! Bear with me as this will be my first DIY tutorial. 

To start out with, here are the supplies you will need:

Keep in mind that if you want to make the top part of the apron a different fabric than the bottom, then you will need to adjust the quantity of material used. For mine, I think I bought maybe 3/4 of a yard for the skirt and 1/2 of a yard for the top part. Stick with 1 yard of fabric for the lining. I used any spare material I had left over to cut out the pocket for the apron. 

You can use regular fabric scissors to cut out the fabric, but after I got this rotary cutter as a Christmas present from my mom, I will not ever use scissors again. The rotary cutter is so much easier to use and you get really straight edges to work with and it's easier to measure without marking the fabric each time.

Since I made my own pattern for this apron, I've shown some rough dimensions here:

I use a white wrapping paper to draw my patterns on...note that these dimensions show the exact size I cut the material too. I've already allowed for a 1/4" seam. Also don't forget to make sure not to cut the folds and  cut doubles for the body, ruffle, and pocket with the lining fabric.

Steps 1 & 2: Line up the pattern on top of the material and mark the edges. I just use a regular pen to draw lines straight onto the fabric. Since the edges will be hidden, no one will ever see my marks.

Step 3: Use the rotary cutter and cut along the edges you just marked. I use my straight edge to line up along the marks and cut a straight line.

Step 4: Cut the rest of your fabric pieces. I didn't really have enough fabric for this tutorial, so I had to piece my fabric together from some scraps I had left over from other projects. Since I am piecing it together, I decided to go ahead and make this apron reversible. 

If I were making it from scratch, I would use a solid piece for the back side. Also note that I haven't cut out the straps or the pockets yet. I'll do that in a few more steps.

Step 5: I start sewing the ruffle first. Line up the front and back side of the ruffle and sew with roughly a 1/4" inseam. If you want to get really fancy, you can pin this first. I usually am too impatient to pin, so I just wing it, but if you are just starting out or if you want everything to line up exactly perfectly, then you should pin first.

Step 6: Be sure to leave a gap in the ruffle so that you can turn it inside out.

Step 7: Turn the ruffle inside out and sew up the gap as best you can. (I always put the gap on the top side of the ruffle so that whenever I attach it to the body of the apron it will not show.

 Step 8: Lay the skirt right side up on the cutting board, then lay the top piece right side down and pin the two pieces together.

Step 9: Sew with a 1/4" inseam. Then repeat for the other side of the apron. Now you should have the body of the apron sewn together.

Step 10: Lay the body down right side up. Pin the ruffle along the bottom of the body, right side down. I always start by pinning the ends first, then the middle. To make the ruffle ruffley, fold it on top of itself like shown in the picture, then pin it down. Once I have the ends and the middle pinned, I pin the middle of each half, and then just repeat until I have the whole thing pinned.

Step 11: Sew together, pulling out the pins as you go. When you're done, the ruffle should look like the picture.

Step 12: Cut out the pocket. I put the fold along the bottom of the square. The picture shows it laid out open. Next, sew up the sides and turn the pocket inside out.

Step 13:  Fold the corners of the pocket inside and pin the edges. Then sew the top of the pocket. I decided to try my hand at some machine embroidery for the first time on this pocket. I'm practicing a little bit because I'm in the process of making my first quilt and I'm getting ready to quilt it soon...so I realize that this is not very good. But give me a break, it's my first try!

Step 14:  Pin the pocket onto the front side of the apron and sew. Don't forget to leave the top of the pocket open so you can actually use it.

Step 15: Now we are ready to sew the two pieces of the apron together! Lay the front of the apron down right side up. Pin the edges of the ruffle out of the way to make sure you don't sew over them then lay the back piece over the top piece right side down. Pin the two pieces together. Note that the ruffle should be on the inside of the two pieces you're sewing right now so that when you turn it inside out, the ruffle will be on the outside.

Step 16: Sew the two pieces together. I start with the bottom first, and then sew up the sides. Remember to leave the top open. Also leave some gaps where shown on the picture so that you can sew in the straps later.

Step 17: Turn the apron inside out and lay flat.

Step 18: Now it's time to cut out the straps! Cut three strap pieces, one to go around the neck, and the other two to tie around your waist.

Step 19: Fold each piece in half hot dog style and sew with a 1/4" inseam.

Step 20: Turn the straps inside out so the seam is on the inside. It is sometimes helpful to iron the edges down to make them easier to deal with from here on. Next pin one end and sew a straight line across the edge of the strap.

Repeat this process for the other two straps.

Step 21: Pin the edges of the straps inside the apron and sew them in.

Step 22: Pin the neck strap to the top of the apron. Fold the rest of the top part of the apron and pin. Then sew the apron up!

You're done! You can play around with the pattern and come up with your own versions. I made one for my sister-in-law with three ruffle layers that was cute, but I've also seen some other aprons on Pinterest that are pretty cute too. But for all of them, I think you could use this apron pattern as the base.

I hope you have enjoyed my first sewing tutorial! Have fun!

How To : Crochet Circle Scarf

I made another circle scarf over the weekend. I think that this is the best one yet! 

I'm going to attempt to briefly explain a how-to on this scarf. (I'm assuming that you already know how to crochet if you are reading this). I'm sorry if it doesn't make sense to you!

I used a thinner yarn and a bigger crochet hook...I'm thinking it's probably a 5 or 6 mm aluminum hook. The stitch is just a simple double crochet stitch, and I just made it long enough to go around my neck twice!

The dimensions are probably about 46 inches long by 5 inches wide, and I didn't even use the whole ball of yarn. If you are going to make one for yourself, I suggest that you start out with your foundation chain going the length of the scarf and then building it up to the width you want so that the edges will be nice and straight. I sort of messed up on mine because I didn't plan it out before I started, so it wasn't long enough.

See how the rows switch all of a sudden? This is what happens when you don't plan a project before you start. Try not to do this if possible.

Unfortunately, I had to switch and make shorter rows at the end to add the extra length I needed. Really, no one will notice when I wear it, but still, try and avoid this if you can!

To join up the ends and make it a circle, I think it looks the best if you just continue your stitch like you're making another row, but loop through the other end of the scarf, and then just tie it off when you complete the row!

You can see in the middle where the two ends came together.

I should say that the other important thing to try and do if you are crocheting anything is to try and keep the tension constant when you are making the stitches. In other words, keep all of your stitches the same. Don't let some be looser than others because this will cause your scarf to be uneven and possibly make it curl up, which you may want sometimes, but most of the time, I try and avoid from happening.

That's just a pretty picture :)